YOUTUBE DISTRIBUTION IS TILTING TOWARD SHORTS, PRESSURING LONG-FORM REACH, DATA SUGGESTS

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

YouTube distribution is shifting toward Shorts, which is cutting long-form reach for many creators. Analysis of more than 500 channels shows average long-form views fell from about 150,000 to about 60,000 per upload, and the top 100 YouTubers saw a roughly 50% view drop in one week. Homepage space for long-form videos shrank from about ten slots in 2024 to two or three in 2025, while Shorts visibility from homepage and search roughly doubled versus 2024. Older Shorts now lose promotion after about 30 days, and AI-generated channels add pressure by capturing 63 billion views and an estimated $117 million in annual revenue. These shifts concentrate long-form views among fewer channels and raise sustainability risks since Shorts earn less revenue and require higher output.